<\/p>\n
TWINSBURG \u2014 An outstanding season for Villa Angela-St. Joseph came to a rainy end Nov. 21 at Twinsburg, as the Vikings ran into a buzzsaw in undefeated Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in the Division III Region 9 final.<\/p>\n
VASJ fell behind in the first half, 21-0, and was never able to recover, falling to the Royals, 42-7. CVCA, champions of the North Coast Conference, will take on Toledo Central Catholic in a state semifinal Nov. 28.<\/p>\n
Wesley Keeler ran for three touchdowns and returned a fumble for another for the Royals, who outgained VASJ, 397-146.<\/p>\n
CVCA (12-0) earned a reputation throughout the season\u00a0as a physical team with a stout defense, and both of those attributes were on display from the start.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tip my hat to them,\u201d VASJ coach Jeff Rotsky said. \u201cWe knew this would be a battle of the trenches, and they won that battle. We didn\u2019t run the ball well, and we didn\u2019t stop the run.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Royals marched 65 yards on 12 plays on the game\u2019s opening drive, mostly on runs from its wing-T offense behind a powerful offensive line. Keeler cashed in on a 2-yard run for a 7-0 lead.<\/p>\n
After forcing a three-and-out, CVCA went 55 yards in five plays, scoring when QB Charley Levak kept the ball and ran around the left end for a 9-yard touchdown and 14-0 lead.<\/p>\n
VASJ (10-2) pushed into Royals\u2019 territory on its next possession, as QB Joe Efford connected twice with Savion Lewis for gains of 20 and 12 yards. But on fourth-and-7 at the CVCA 24, Efford was sacked for a 6-yard loss.<\/p>\n
Things began going the Vikings\u2019 way a little bit in the second quarter, as back-to-back holding penalties pushed the Royals back to a second-and-28 at their own 12.<\/p>\n
But Levak arced a perfect pass down the sideline to Brayden Harris, who caught the ball in stride for a 52-yard gain. Two plays later, CVCA was in the end zone again on a 5-yard run by Keeler that made it 21-0.<\/p>\n
VASJ came to life after that, as Efford launched a deep ball that was caught by Ardell Chatman for a gain of 59 to the CVCA 5-yard line.<\/p>\n
Although a personal foul penalty would push the Vikings back to the 19, Efford again was able to connect with Chatman, this time in the end zone to get VASJ on the board, trailing, 21-7.<\/p>\n
After an exchange of punts, CVCA took over at its own 20 with 1:05 to go before halftime. In six plays, the Royals advanced the ball to the VASJ 38 with 19 seconds left. A Levak pass to the end zone was broken up by VASJ\u2019s Ronnie Taylor, with 4 seconds to go.<\/p>\n
On the last play of the half, a Levak pass was tipped by a VASJ defender, but the ball went right to CVCA\u2019s\u00a0DonGino Bickley, who was the trailing receiver on the play, and he took it in for a touchdown and a 28-7 Royals lead.<\/p>\n
Keeler added two more touchdowns for CVCA in the second half, as the\u00a0rain that started before halftime picked up in intensity. Keeler, a senior, returned a fumble for a touchdown deep in VASJ territory in the third quarter, and added another score on a short run early in the fourth.<\/p>\n
Levak passed for 111 yards and ran for 119, eluding VASJ defenders with his speed on QB draws and scrambles. Joey Kopec rushed for 83 yards, and Keeler only ran for 29 but also had the three touchdown runs. CVCA finished with 286 yards rushing, while holding VASJ to 20 yards on the ground, including yardage from five sacks.<\/p>\n
\n@cvcafootball<\/a> Coach Nick Cook talks about the Royals\u2019 42-7 win over VASJ in the D3R9 Regional Final, and CVCA\u2019s first appearance in the state semifinals next week against Toledo Central Catholic pic.twitter.com\/NsFX14QdJP<\/a><\/p>\n